Would You Care to Dance?
by Polarbearblue
Summary: Weiss recruits Cardin to attend an important function with her. But when he doesn't show, a special someone decides to help the heiress out.
1. The Pledge

"Cardin Winchester; you are going on a date with Cardin Winchester?!"

"Not just any date. I heard it was super special date!" Nora shouted.

Weiss looked up from her fingernail filing to throw a glare the girl before turning her attention to the blond boy sitting across from her. "It's not a date Jaune. There will be a gala event hosted by all the dust mining companies in the coming weeks, and as a representative of the Schnee Dust Company, I have to attend, with an escort."

Jaune cocked his head to the side before raising his arm to hide a chuckle directed at the heiress. "So out of all people you picked Cardin to be your escort?"

Weiss rolled her eyes and snapped back at Jaune in a hushed icy tone. "It's not like I had much of choice. The boys here are hardly my pick of the litter. And Cardin came to me."

"Really Snow Angel, all you had to do was ask Jaune Arc, resident lady killer, and your shining knight would have saved you."

Weiss took a long look at Jaune giving off his best, suave smile while flexing his almost none existent muscles before stealing at glance at Pyrrha shifting uncomfortably in her seat to his right. "One, refrain from using that name from this point on, or you will find yourself six feet under", she barked. "Two, I will not be seen with the king of dorks. Please try women on your own level Jaune. Or at least those who care to give you attention."

Jaune hung his head low and sighed as Weiss stole another glance at Pyrrha who was patting her defeat leader on the back. With a silent 'Thank you' as recognition for the real meaning behind her words from Pyrrha, the heiress returned a grin. How Jaune could be so clueless and Pyrrha so shy was beyond her.

"Yeah, but he kinda brings up a point Weiss. Why didn't you ask Jaune or Ren to accompany you?" It was Yang who spoke this time, in between meal bites.

"There are obvious reasons why I didn't ask Jaune. As for Ren…" Weiss stole on look at the boy in green before her eyes rested heavily on Nora. Weiss wasn't sure how to gage Nora at the moment, the scatter brained bubbly girl smiling back at her with eyes as wide as a child. She had been talking nonstop until she mentioned Cardin saying something about getting the chance to take the heiress out on a date. That was how this whole conversation started. But aside from the last outburst of a 'super special date', Nora had been quiet, dangerously quiet and actively listening; especially at the mention of Ren.

"I understand what you are saying Weiss. No offense taken", Ren spoke, taking a sip of tea from the cup he held in his palm.

"AWWWW REN! Don't you wanna wear a pretty pink tux?" It would appear Nora didn't care. Weiss took a breath of relief.

"Princess, I'm gonna level with you. As much as your options are limited", Yang took a long glance around the cafeteria, "I really think this is a bad idea. You really should have asked Jaune or Ren. Or we could have helped you find a guy."

"I agree. Of all people I would have hopped it wouldn't have been anyone form team CRDL", Pyrrha added. "I'm sure Jaune would make a lovely date." At that Jaune perked up to find Pyrrha smiling at him and Weiss burying her face in her hands.

_I give you a bone and you throw it back._

"You also could have gone with one of us girls. I think Yang would clean up nice enough for a tux." All eyes turn on Blake reading her book, Yang nearly breaking her neck at the force of her head swipe. Blake simply shrugged. "Joking; just go stag like you do every event. Anything is better than Cardin."

"Look, I appreciate…whatever this is", Weiss stood up from the table, "But none of you wouldn't have known if certain people kept what they learned to themselves", Weiss threw a cold star at Nora who returned a sheepish grin. "Besides that, if anything, I'm just using that pompous oaf for one dance and few words to whomever, and then I'll be leaving. I only need to make my presence there known, I don't need anyone here to worry about me, and I won't let anyone dare belittle my choice. I have my reasons." And with that Weiss left the table leaving and air of silence.

"Hmm, I still don't think she should go with Cardin", Pyrrha spoke to break the silence. The others at the table spoke in agreement with Pyrrha, all with various not to kind words to describe Cardin, all except Ruby.

"You know guys; did you all ever stop to think Cardin has changed after the events of Forever Fall?"

This time, all eyes turned to Ruby who had been sitting at far end of the table, Yang once again nearly breaking her neck.

"Well that's certainly an unpopular opinion sis", Yang stated rubbing the back of her neck.

Ruby shook her head. "I know. And I agree with you all; however, I also respect Weiss. And I'm pretty sure she knows what she's doing. This gala sound pretty important and Cardin must have been as close to acceptable as anyone could be. Our princess is a big girl. She doesn't need us to tell her how stupid her situation sounds."

Silence filled the table again. No one was really expecting Ruby to say what she had. In fact Yang found it odd her sister was silent the entire exchange, even ignoring Weiss' general direction. They were sure Ruby would have had a problem with it, but she seemed, indifferent to it. "But he's still a massive jerk", Yang mumbled under her breath.

"Anyway, we should be heading off to class. Professor Peach is supposed to be showing us something good in class today!" Ruby stood from the table and hopped her way to the exit, five of the remaining six friends slowly filing out. Waiting until everyone else had left, Blake took a thin strip of paper that read 'Ruby' in fancy script out of her blazer pocket. Examining it for a minute the Faunus placed it in her book to mark where she last left off, ears hidden in her bow twitching and a small smirk appearing over her features.

"This will be fun."

* * *

Ruby had said she was fine with Weiss' choice of an escort, and for weeks leading up to Weiss' gala, Ruby showed she was in full support, even suggesting the two go out shopping for a dress to knock Cardin "off his feet and into Forever Fall". Ruby was only was only slightly disappointed when the heiress informed her she had long had her dress made.

But in truth, of all of team RWBY and JNPR, Ruby was the most worried and suspicious. She absolutely hated that Weiss was willing to accept Cardin as her escort, and when she heard it at lunch, she wanted to jump across the table and slap her partner until she bled. In her mind, it was ludicrous that Weiss thought Cardin would make a good fit, regardless of his family name. Still, Weiss seemed so annoyed at everyone that Ruby thought better than to add on to her troubles, keeping her mouth closed and actions in check.

Nonetheless, Ruby had her doubts, and as such, for an entire week, stalked Cardin to confirm her suspicions…everywhere. After class Ruby would pretend she had questions to ask professors, just so she could wait around and hear Cardin get reprimanded about class performance. At lunch, Ruby always found the group of friends a table closer to Cardin so she could eavesdrop on conversations better. Ruby took on more field assignments, under the guise to improve her skills as a huntress and do live training, much to Weiss' delight. No one; however, thought to question why many of her assignments were requested whenever Cardin received one. Eventually, Ruby outright followed Cardin wherever he went.

"You know, you're pretty good at this stealth thing. But you aren't a Faunus, so you'll need to get closer to hear."

Little Red nearly jumped out of her skin as the black haired girl placed a soft hand over her shoulder catching Ruby in the act of trailed Cardin and Russel through the school grounds one afternoon. She may have not been a world class assassin type like Blake, but she was no slouch in stealth. After all, a team leader had to be a jack of all trades. Too bad she couldn't tell she was being preyed upon, so to speak.

"Blake! Hi! Uh, look, it's not what you think it is—"

"If you mean me stalking you stalking Cardin, who may or may not have a prank against Weiss, isn't what it appears to be..."

"I'm not stalking him! Just, uh, happen to be following him?"

"Easier to read than a book", Blake joked, stifling a giggle that threatened to escape. "Look Ruby, I know. And I suspect the same as you. I'm helping." And with that Blake leaped into trees along the path Cardin traveled. "Follow."

Heeding Blake's command Ruby trailed close behind Blake in foliage that surround the boy's path, halting whenever Blake got ahead of her and held out her hand in a silent symbol to stop, and moving when Blake jumped gaps to another branch. The trailing was long and mostly boring talks of girl, plans that weekend, and television shows they enjoyed filling the silence. But the two stayed hot on the trail to seek out any information about Cardin's date with the princess.

It must have been pure luck when the boys passed by the heiress herself. It was enough to initiate conversation about her, and what they needed to know.

"You lucky dog you. You got a date with the Ice Queen. She must think you some major stud", Russel hummed as they rounded a corner to the dorm building.

"That's because I am a stud, Russel my boy. But it's hardly going to be a date. I wouldn't dare go out with that pretentious bitch", Cardin replied through gritted teeth.

Russel grimaced at the words and frowned. "Why not? She's a high class babe. I know your family is special and all but Weiss is one in a million."

"She thinks she's perfect. She's high on my list of people who need to be taken down a notch. She gave me the invitation but I have no intentions of going. What better way to embarrass her than to stand her up at what is considered the Schnee's own gala?"

"Sending your good buddy Russel instead!"

The two trackers held their hiding positions as the boys continued into the dorm, Blake listening to Russel voice his disappointment until they were no longer in range of her hearing. The Faunus and scythe-wielder shared a glance at each other as Blake descended the trees, seemingly sharing information between each other. They learned two things today: Russel had a major crush on the heiress and Cardin was going stand Weiss up at the ball.

"We have to tell Weiss! We can't let her get stood up on her big night!" Ruby proclaimed as she stepped out of the bushes and into stone path.

Blake stared at her leader then out to the dorm ahead of them, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed in thought. "Even if we tell her, it will do little good. Weiss was adamant about attending."

"Then we need to find her another date! I have to call Jaune." Ruby took out her scroll and began to dial a series of numbers, but was stopped by a pale hand grabbing her scroll.

"Or, we can make our own", Blake smirked with a wink at Ruby.

Ruby titled her head to the side, one brow raised in confusion. "Um, what? Why?"

Blake smirked, answering Ruby's question with one of her own. "How do you feel about chest binding and colored contacts leans?"

* * *

If there was one thing Weiss' father always told her, it was that one must speak softly and carry a big stick. Weiss didn't understand what he meant when she was told at six, but growing up a Schnee teaches you a lot of things.

_"Weiss, I aspire for you to be great things, far more than what I am now. For that I must train up the way my father has trained me, and the way his father has trained him. For that, I will not spare you any sympathies. You may be of woman, be I will make sure you are as strong as a lion. All your lessons will teach you to run this company, and to do so you must learn to speak softly and carry a big stick."_

Very quickly Weiss learned what her father meant. It was proverb from a place long forgotten, advising the tactic of caution and non-aggression, backed up by the violence when necessary. It was the prefect proverb for her family. A Schnee does not boast or utter verbal threats. Having to establish authority in such a fashion made many men weak. Especially since many more men could do so louder. But a Schnee makes sure others aware that you are prepared to use force if necessary. A Schnee always held decisive weapon in reserve.

That was Weiss' initial understanding of truism, but her father took it to mean more than the basic meaning. When Blake first talked about her father's company, their controversial labor forces and questionable business partners, she was reminded. All the meeting she attended with her father when she couldn't be left alone, the dinner parties she was forced to, the various competitions she competed in; they were all reminders. Everything her father did was his way to show he did indeed carry a big stick. And until she was the head woman in charge who employed these tools, she was a weapon too.

Even this ball; it was called The Extravagant Dust Miner's Gala, the biggest bash of the year for all the existing energy propellant producers in the world. Every company was supposed to put a certain percentage of money into organizing the event, which if anyone knew the real cost of, would have a heart attack for three lifetimes. But everyone in the business knew it as The Schnee's Showoff Gala.

For the largest energy producers like her father's company, a 15 percent contribution comes off as a very tame amount to contribute. The Schnee Dust Company contributed at least 50 percent. Every company was supposed to be assigned responsibility for different aspects of the event. The Schnee Dust Company made accommodations of all of it. The event was made to be an affair with a limited number of guests to keep it classy. Weiss' father made it so that everyone and their mother could attend, and still maintain the class, the prestige it had. That meant the food, entertainment, venue; everything was better than best.

But that was only because everyone knew what this event was really about. It showed just how much strength The Schnee Dust Company had, while maintaining some diplomacy. Weiss' father made sure the right guests were invited, and each guest in attendance was treated like royalty. Alliances and networks were built here. Industry secret were shared here. Companies, on the verge of bankruptcy, and land were bought here, and every year The Schnee Dust Company came out on top with stronger connections, more secrets, and more growth. Only a few of SDC's rivals cared, but for everyone else, they were just happy to be there.

Being here was a rite of passage; one of many Weiss could do without.

For years Weiss enjoyed never having to attend except twice before with her father when she was very young, with a Schnee never actually showing face plenty times before. But this year the gala was held in Vale, and for once in a long time, she was instructed to show up. She was told she didn't have to stay for the entire ball, but long enough to have been seen so they could talk about her. Talk about her dress, her manners, how she walked, how she danced, how pristine of a daughter Mr. K. Schnee produced. What the family made.

_"You aren't a little girl anymore. It's time you see just who your enemies and allies are."_

As such Weiss planned to attend with a strapping young man in a basic black tux on her arms, her in a long icy blue, simmering silver, strapless dress that flared out at the bottom with a tail to follow her. She'd dance a waltz or foxtrot as he held on to her hand hidden in silver gloves, say hi to a few people with a white smile, then promptly leave with him as if she had better things to do.

So why wasn't Cardin here? Why did she come to the ball alone when Cardin failed to get to the agreed meeting place in time? Why was she sitting at a table alone while the song she could have danced to played? And why was a strange red eyed man dressed in black and silver, with mischievous grin out stretching a single red rose to the heiress?


	2. The Turn

"Do I know you?" Annoyance laced with a hint of confusion wrapped Weiss' question. She was sitting at one of the tables surrounding the ballroom floor, particularly pissed that the date she had recruited for tonight had not shown up. After the dinner that was served, she had to spend most time hiding from businessmen and socialites to avoid answer more painful questions about her family business, her education at Beacon, and her supposed date for the evening; specifically, where is he. She was in need of a game plan, because that jerk Cardin didn't show. And here it was out of nowhere, a short and thin masked figure was offering her a single rose with a playful grin plastering his face.

He was flirting with her and she did not like it. He was flirting because she was alone. She shouldn't even be alone. But she was and he was here flirting because Cardin Winchester did not show up. At least, she assumed so, since everyone flirted with Weiss Schnee.

Maybe that last thought was bit arrogant but it held some truth. Many of the businessmen here had younger sons who were stalking her like prey. Of course her cold attitude and position as a Schnee kept them at bay; except this man. She wished he wasn't trying to woo her at the moment as she was not in the mood for silly passes at her. She made a reminder to kill Cardin when she returned to Beacon.

Unresponsive to her question at first, the masked figure dropped his grin before waving the hand holding the rose out to Weiss again as if he wanted her to take it. Rolling her eyes with a click of her tongue Weiss snatched the rose and twisted it in her hand to examine it. The man smiled.

The rose, it was small and delicate like a newborn, but it soft, without thorns, and smelled fresh, its scent strong. Reminded her of a certain black and red headed girl she knew. A small piece of paper adorned the stem of the flower like a dress. Unraveling it, Weiss was in fancy script of blue ink it asked _'Would you like to dance?'_ The handwriting looked familiar but the heiress couldn't place who it belonged to at the moment.

Weiss took her time to survey the man before her. Dressed in a black tux, wearing a silver vest and tie he looked to stand about her height. He was thin, and hardly muscular from what Weiss could see; his skin was pale white. White gloves covered his hand while a Beowolf mask covered his face from the nose up until it met his hair line. With eyes as red and vibrant as the purest crystal fire dust the heiress noticed that man's slicked back hair also resembled the colors of her childish partner, black with red streaks. His attire was finished with a silver cloak and black top hat he held in his hands.

As the heiress took her time scrutinizing her masked guest, his grin and twinkling eyes fell to a neutral stare. He tried to avoid fidgeting but in waiting for a response from Weiss ended up drumming on his hat. When he found his was suddenly making music from the makeshift percussion instrument a short memory flared in his mind before he abruptly stopped, opting to hold his hands behind his back.

"I don't like red roses", the heiress finally answered, placing to flower on table behind her. Short and simple without actually saying it, if he caught the sharp tone in her voice, he'd just walk away.

The masked man stood for a minute, resting his eyes on the heiress, mouth forming into a slight frown. He thought about leaving but instead he reached to her side, exchanging his hat for the rose instead. He held it in hand, studied it briefly, and then flicked his wrist. The rose was suddenly drained of all color as he presented her a white version of the flower.

Handing the rose back to her, another note adorned its stem: _'So does my princess like white instead?'_ Weiss scoffed at the note as her right eye twitched. She hated being called princess. It was one of the worse nicknames anyone has ever given her. Furthermore she was being called _his_ princess. Who was this pompous _boy_?

"I have a date I am waiting for. But thank you", the heiress snapped as he turned her attention to the dance floor.

When the male figured refused to leave the heiress swung her head to glare at him; surely he was not that dense. "I don't want to dance with you", she hissed. The male sighed, took his hat and rose, and with a snap of his fingers the flower burst into a short flame. Weiss jumped at the sudden pyrotechnic theatrics before focusing on the beautiful dancing of the sparks in his palm. They were like firecrackers. As he took his leave, her mind slowly drifted into her thoughts. She had seen this before.

* * *

_The class was particularly talkative about something cool Professor Peach had to show before he entered the room, safety googles sucking his face like a leech. Resting his gaze on the class, he began to speak, voice monotone, drawn out, and dry of all emotions, only rising a bit during certain parts of his monologue, but smooth and soothing like the voice of a late night radio DJ on a smooth Jazz station. _

_"Welcome back class. I hope you all are excited for today's lesson, for today we will be taking a break from your basic learning about Dust Application and Aura Manipulation to talk about advance practices and techniques of this class. I hope this will get you excited about it, and add fun to the class. _

_The professor walked over to his desk and flipped a wall switch; bring down a giant projector screen behind his desk. _

_"As you all may or may not recall from earlier lectures, I explained that individuals blessed with exceptional strong auras can command dust in unique ways. But you may not know that the first individuals to take advantage of their aura to control more power from dust were magicians. The following video is an old documentary of Eisenheim Borden Angier, who was a world class master illusionist who as a scholar also contributed to the study of dust, auras, and semblances. Play attention, as this film will be on your next exam. You may also borrow this film from the library."_

_Telling the student they could borrow this film was a mistake. Professor Peach flipped the light, sat in front; his back to the class to view the film, and almost immediately students took the opportunity to ignore what was on screen. Most students slept, some played video games on handheld devices, and a few decided to outright make out with their lover. It was deplorable by Weiss standards. _

_She took a view of her teammates. Blake had took it as a cue to read her latest book, probably smut of Weiss had to guess; Yang opted to listen to music and take notes leaving Weiss baffled how she could manage both until she saw the subtitles on screen. And then there was Ruby._

_"There are few men as magical as Eisenheim Borden Angier. As an illusionist, and scholar Angier helped shaped the foundation of what many hunters and huntress know about dust in relation to aura and semblances while entertaining millions everywhere through his mastery of illusions through dust."_

_While Weiss expected Ruby to be drawing various crude pictures of her professors, or otherwise sleeping the girl was taking notes, actively listening in sheer amazement as if Yang was reading a bedtime story. _

_"A lot of people ask me, 'Angier, why do you do it?' and I tell them 'I like to make children smile, I like to make things pretty, and I like inspire imaginations'. Magic is hard work; this is a full time job for me, and hazardous. No matter how pure Schnee's Dust is, at any moment, I can lose my arm, my eyes, or my life. I mean, being brunt is a terrible way to die… But I do it because, I think; no, I know the world is magical and beautiful. I was never a storyteller, so I use illusions to inspire…"_

_Weiss was set in a trance by the girl beside her. Ruby was in rare form and it never ceased to surprise the princess. Eyes wide in excitement, her leader was absorbing every bit of information in the video, running through pages in her notebook taking notes of this Mr. Angier and the tricks he performed and of the dust he used. The heiress could hear the young girl exclaim almost silent praises for the figure talked about in the film, her eyes never leaving the screen._

_"Weiss, pay attention!"_

_Except when Ruby reprimand Weiss for staring at her when she noticed her entire page was blank. This caused the older teen to shy away catching the last bit of magician's speech._

_"It also help that performing my magic gets pretty women to like me."_

* * *

Weiss had once again found herself trying to hide from important guests at the ball. Wandering the shadows of room, she was desperately trying to come up with a solution to her dilemma, something to save face for when the news would travel back to her father. But every idea that came to mind ended in the same result, scolding from her old man. She had run into one or two strangers who ignored her missing date, but she couldn't keep this up. There was only one way out of this, find one of her lonely stalkers to slap on her arm and pass him off as her date.

That's when she saw him again, the masked wolf as she named him, top hat slanted over the right side of his face as he leaned against a wall; Weiss' right eye twitch. '_Anyone but him'_ she though and began to walk away in the opposite direction.

Weiss had thought he didn't notice her, except, there he was again, right behind her. Weiss eyes went wide as she looked behind her at the far spot in the shadows where she thought he stood, little sparks of fire dancing in the air as if they were burning something before disappearing .

"How did you—"

The man interrupted her thoughts by taking her hand, kissing it, and bending his back in a bow, using his free hand to flare out his silver cape.

Weiss snatched her hand away and opened her mouth to utter disapproving word when the figure held a finger up to her face. Still holding his cloak out, the masked wolf pretended to look into it for a brief second, before repeating the same action to his other side. Not finding what he was looking for there the man removed his top hat and turned it over to look inside.

Almost burying his face in his hat, the man jerked his head up and held his fist out, thumb up. Swiping the hat down in front of him in a slow motion a bouquet of white roses appeared, held in his fist.

Weiss held a stoic expression, but on the inside, she was fighting with logic as she tried to make sense of how this guy made a dozen white rose appear out of thin air. Was it the cape? Was it in his hat? Why couldn't she remember Professor Peach's entire lecture now? Surely her answer lied somewhere in him talking about magic tricks. _'When I return to Beacon, I'll have to borrow that tape and Ruby's notes.'_

"Cute", she uttered as she took the flowers in her own hands.

Without waiting for another snide comment the masked figure clapped his hand then pointed a finger to the bouquet. On cue the flowers started simmering an arrangement of colors as if they had been coated in glitter. Plucking one for the bunch, the male tucked a white rose glittering red into Weiss' hair close to her ear, grinning from ear to ear.

"Very cute", she stated. Magic was clearly part of his mime routine. "I guess…" Weiss paused and took a long glance around the room. "I'll have _one_ dance with you." He'd have to do.

The man's face was glued into a smile as he resisted the urge to rejoice in a silent fist pump. Weiss took note of this. He was certainly weird.

Taking his prize by the hand he walked her to her dance floor, leaving his hat and the flowers at a table in passing. The current song had just started; it was a tune the foxtrot was an appropriate dance to. Weiss leaned in close to her new companion, catching the scent of roses, whispering softly but mustering as harsh as tone as she could to convey her message.

"I _hope_ you know the foxtrot, and _do not_ try anything fancy."

The masked figure stared into her blue eyes before nodding in confirmation; then he started to move. Suddenly something felt familiar about the way this gent moved and the way he held her. Weiss took a moment to think about it until it suddenly hit her like a rush of wind. She had danced with the man before.


	3. The Prestige

_"You utter dolt. Are you even trying or do you enjoy wasting my time?!"_

_"Weiss, I…I'm sorry, but, uh, you aren't making this easy", Jaune cautiously stated, apprehension in his voice._

_"You idiot, I am telling you how to step, the posture you need, everything! Why can't you get it together?!"_

_Jaune was really regretting his decision. Beacon was having dance and he had plans to ask a certain girl he had recently met to the party. He had received approval from his team and they helped him put together a plan for getting his date. But one thing still eluded the boy, he didn't know how to dance, and it turned out to be a pretty big deal for him. Weiss caught wind of his problem, and being overjoyed he was moving on from trying to win her heart she offered her assistance to the boy._

_"Jaune! Seriously, what can you do right?!" Sadly, Weiss underestimated how much work this would require. _

_"Um…I can eat large amounts of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes", Jaune responded shifting uncomfortably in his standing position._

_"How the hell will that win you this girl's heart?"_

_"Um…it won't?" Someone who was neither Weiss of Jaune was giggling in the background. Quickly snapping in the direction of the disturbance, Weiss sighed as she saw her partner standing in the door of the open room they were currently practicing in._

_"What is so funny? And why are you here?" the heiress barked._

_"I thought we had a study date today, and what's funny is that you can't really help Jaune if you keep yelling at him."_

_Weiss groaned. "Ruby, check your scroll. I clearly sent a message telling you I had to cancel our study session." Without wasting another breath she motioned for Jaune to get ready for another round of practice. Ruby sat on the floor to a far off corner to watch the duo work. Much to Weiss' dismay and Ruby's entertainment, the practice was going terrible. No matter how much the princess fumed, the scraggy knight was doing everything wrong. Stepping on her toes, bumping heads with her, failing to keep count, and missing steps. He couldn't even hold her properly. The more mistakes he made, the more Weiss fussed. The more she fussed, the more mistakes he made._

_It was a vicious cycle._

_"If you're going to yell at him, he won't improve" Ruby sang, smirking at the duo as Weiss reprimanded him for stepping on her toes for the 5__th__ time._

_"And you think you can do better?" she hissed in response to Ruby._

_"Nope, I know I can do better."_

_"That'll be the day…" Weiss scoffed. But before she could turn her attention to the blond Ruby had dashed in front of her, grabbing her waist and taking one hand. _

_"Waltz?" the young girl asked. Before Weiss could state her disapproval Ruby had begun to move, prompting Jaune take a seat and chill; he replay the song they had been dancing to just a few second ago. Weiss tried to put up protest, but her leader wouldn't let go and pretty soon her body complied with following Ruby's lead._

_The heiress was surprised to find it was wonderful, gliding and spinning across the room with someone competent enough to dance with like her fearless leader. No, Ruby was actually good; in complete control of her movement, elegant, and sharp, but relaxed. It was as if she had done this almost as much as Weiss and the heiress couldn't shake how comfortable she felt in Ruby's embrace. When Ruby started to become bolder and try more complicated moved, Weiss followed. It wasn't a basic waltz anymore, it was a performance. 'Who taught her to dance like this?' Weiss wondered._

_By then end of their dance Jaune was offering the two a standing ovation._

_"THAT! I WANT TO DANCE LIKE THAT!" he exclaimed, "How do I do that?"_

_Ruby chuckled. "Two things; first, you need a teacher who is patience enough to help you learn", Weiss huffed as Ruby threw her a sideways glance at her, "Second, you need the prefect partner. Would the girl you are trying to impress be Pyrrha?"_

_"No, why?"_

_"Well, I was thinking, Pyrrha would be your perfect partner. You two train and study together so much, I figured she'd be someone who you are very comfortable with, the same way it is for me with Weiss. I guess that's what make perfect partner." _

_Weiss, who was holding a rather harsh glare at her leader, had relaxed her face for just a moment to think. She knew Ruby was secretly trying to coax Jaune into asking Pyrrha to the dance instead of the girl he recently met, but Ruby's words caused Weiss to pause. The girl considered her the perfect partner. Surely Ruby must have meant she was just a good dancer, to which, the heiress would stubbornly return the compliment, but was her junior actually sincere? Did it just apply to dancing?_

_Ignoring the uneasy feelings in her stomach, Weiss watched as Ruby, uncontested, took over her position to instruct Jaune in the art of the waltz and foxtrot. The heiress formed the slightest of smiles before turning on her heels to leave. "Have fun you two", she mocking called out._

* * *

Weiss didn't know when she had lost focus but she must have been dancing by muscle memory alone. She definitely shared a dance with this man before, and while her face didn't show it, inside she was frighten. The figure before her didn't speak but always had a smile, a grin, or when Weiss barked, a frown akin to a child, and this behavior bothered her.

Was he a dangerous person? Weiss doubted it but he seemed so adamant about dancing with her, trying to woo her dorky magic tricks, he could have been luring her into a false sense of security, somehow making himself feel so familiar she wouldn't know it until it was too late. Threats to harm a Schnee at this event had come up in the pass, and every year, her father increased security to thaw off attempts.

Weiss knew she should have taken Myrtenaster with her tonight.

Weiss clutched the arm of her dancing partner tightly causing him to stop just as the song reached its conclusion. "Who are you? Are you someone I know?"

The person before her shook his head no, breaking contact with Weiss' eyes and dropping his hand from Weiss' waist but never letting go of her hand. Why was he suddenly shying away?

Weiss furrow her brow. Each second she thought about it, it became more obvious, and the more sense it made, the more frustrated Weiss became for not piecing these clues together sooner. The flowers, his choice of colors and the cape, his ability to teleport across the room and appear wherever she was, the feeling of familiarity she felt when he touched her, the memories that flared up, his mannerisms, and his scent. All of it pointed to the fact that the person before her wasn't who he pretended to be.

Like a punch to her gut, it hit her. She had an idea as to what his identity was and was more than relieved to discover that this person was far from dangerous, at least without a giant sniper rifle aimed at the creatures of darkness. Even if she asked and he didn't respond, she knew she would have likely been right.

Weiss took a long stare into the pools of her partner's red eyes. "Are you Ruby?" Weiss softly called.

Again, he confirmed a no with a shake of his head, but he was having a difficult time looking her in the eyes.

"Then what is your name?" she demanded.

Before Weiss could procure an answer, a rather older man, tall and muscularly built, with grey hair and beard, had stepped into view. Weiss recognized him, the head of one of her father's biggest rivals and a childhood friend. She quickly spun her partner to face him, and made her way off the dance floor, dragging the person behind her. Questions about this _wolf's_ identity can wait until they played nice to the aristocrats in attendance. She still needed this liar for that much.

"My lovely girl, you looked stunning on the floor this evening!" His voice was loud and booming, just like Professor Port, but deeper. "How is my dearest Kälte doing these days?"

Weiss cringed at the sound of her father's name but held a neutral expression. "He is doing fine. He is sorry he could not attend this evening."

"Nonsense girl, you are here! And he arranged for you a very lovely date." Sharing a gentle kiss on the cheek with Weiss the older man picked up her date, lifting them clear off the floor before landing a kiss on their face, crushing their ribs in the process. Weiss may have forgotten to mention the old man was an affectionate greeter. But it served as punishment for the deceitfulness. Besides that, the wolf was probably used to crushing bear hugs, especially those coming from certain fiery blonds.

"You are such the dancer my boy, remind me of myself in my youth. Impressive foxtrot, I can only imagine your quickstep is superb!" The old man's captive could only return a sheepish grin and a slight nod as he was released from his prison.

Turning back to Weiss, who made sure to grab hold of her date to keep them from escaping Weiss entertained the older man's questions she expected to answer, questions about her family business, her education at Beacon, and her supposed date for the evening. For a moment she had forgotten about her date as she shifted from detective mode to princess at a royal affair. But she never lost sight of her companion, nor did she let them go.

Sometime later the older man became satisfied with his conversation with Weiss and left, allowing Weiss to give full attention to her date. Dragging her companion off the floor and tucked away into the corners of the ballroom, Weiss was quick to throw them to the wall and remove the mask.

"Cat's out the bag now, isn't it Ruby?"

The jig was up. Ruby didn't answer as she lowered her eyes from Weiss' harden gaze. She could tell the heiress was angry, never having heard so much of it in her tone before. At this point she figured it was best not to answer her; it would only incite more fury.

"When we return to Beacon", Weiss began, venom spilling out her voice, "You owe me some answers. For now, I require you here. Smile, but do not speak, and act as if you have a backbone. Understand?"

A hushed "Yes Weiss", was her only response as she placed the mask back on her face and linked arms with the heiress. In a small part of the heiress, it was relief to hear her voice. For Ruby, it was painful to hear herself speak. Of all the things Blake had told her not to do, she had lost her cool.

_"Distract her with your magic, dance round her if you must; kiss her if it would keep her from guessing who you are. But whatever you do, keep calm. You'll fall under her gaze if you stare to long."_

Ruby received a sharp jab to her sides as she shot her head high and smiled, the duo approached another couple. No matter how many dances were left tonight, she was hardly going to enjoy any of them.

* * *

The ride back to Beacon in the limo Weiss had arranged for them was quiet for the pair, to say the least. Fumbling with her scroll, Ruby tried her best to keep her distance from the heiress but sitting in such a confined space with her didn't make it possible. Ruby swore she could feel a chilling aura surrounding the girl as she was fuming, threatening to inflict frostbite if Ruby spoke or touched her. It eventually dissipated to a regular temper, but it didn't make Ruby feel anymore safer.

As instructed, she played her part as the gentleman, from the ball to the drop off in front of Beacon, linking her arm with Weiss to stroll the stone path to Beacon, just long enough for the driver to pull away. Then without warning Weiss slapped Ruby across the back of her head.

"What the hell were you thinking?! Why did you, just, why Ruby?!"

Ruby raised her hands in defense from another blow, the look of a frighten child coating her features. "I knew Cardin wouldn't show up, so I came to bail you out. But I wanted to keep my identity a secret because I knew you'd be embarrassed if you found out it was me."

"And you didn't think to tell me?!"

"Yes! And no…" Her voice trailed off in guilt.

"It can't be both Ruby!"

"I wanted to tell you, honest! But then Blake suggested if I did this then…" Ruby's voice trailed off again as she took a seat at a nearby bench. She took a glimpse of Weiss standing above her, arms crossed and eye dangerously narrowed at her. "She said maybe something good would happen, for the both of us."

"So she coaxed you into doing this?"

"NO! It was my idea! She just helped", Ruby exclaimed jumping up from her seat. If Ruby was going down, she had to keep Blake's ship afloat.

"So the suit, the mask, and the…eyes?"

"She helped me pick them out. She said my silver eyes would be a dead giveaway."

Uncharacteristically Weiss snorted. "So you picked red?"

"I like red…"

"How did you get an invitation?"

Ruby dropped her gaze from Weiss. "Blake stole it from Cardin."

"And what about the magic you pulled to try to impress me?"

"That, I already knew how to do all that. I thought it'd be a nice touch. But looking back it was kinda dorky. I guess I'm no Eisenheim Borden Angier. "

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose as her exhaled, left arm crossing her right. She knew Blake had more to do with this than Ruby was admitting, and her Faunus teammate purposely leaving clues for her to piece together.

"Help me to understand Ruby because I still don't know why you'd do this. I mean, what good thing were you excepting to happen to us with you being so deceitful?"

Ruby's eyes shifted as she stared to the ground. Blake told her this would have been the hardest part of the conversation she'd have with Weiss should she admit to this deed, but Ruby didn't expect to be comforted like this; she wasn't ready. A ring went off on Ruby's scroll but the girl ignored it.

"Nothing", came her reply.

"It isn't just 'nothing' Ruby. You had another motive. What was it?"

Ruby ran her fingers through her hair. "Nothing", she sighed.

"You promised me answers Ruby Rose!"

"And I gave you answers! What more do you want from me?" She was close to screaming.

"Honesty you idiot!"

"Jesus Weiss, you want honesty?! Fine, here it is; I did it so I could go on a date with you!" In frustration Ruby removed her mask and tossed it aside, hanging her head in shame. "I did it because I wanted to go on a date with you but I didn't have the courage to ask you. These feeling are foreign to me, and while I can deal with monsters, I can't deal with people, especially you. I didn't know how to express this to you and I just…" Ruby went silent.

Weiss dropped her burning glare to give a neutral stare. If she wasn't sure before, she was sure now. Ruby, in her own roundabout why, confessed all her feelings, and Weiss was sure it took all her courage to do. The heiress could see Ruby was extremely embarrassed having been back into a corner like this, her face the color of her signature cape.

Part of Weiss was still pissed, but more of her was starting to feel guilty.

"Why didn't you ask me?"

"You would have said no. I have feeling I'd like to spare."

"You don't know that."

Ruby remained silent. She didn't have a rebuttal this time. Honestly, she wanted out of this situation. She wanted to go to bed.

"Ruby, next time, ask me out properly."

"Next time? Does that mean—"

"It just means what it means. Don't put too much thought into it." Weiss wasn't being honest with the girl. While she felt every reason to be upset at her partner for being tricked into a date, she wasn't telling the whole truth; that she may have had some foreign feelings too.

Ruby caught it; she was now on the offensive.

"But you said next time. Weiss, I'm really having a hard time dealing with this. The least _you can do_ is give me some clarity. Does next time mean—"

"It means you can give me the last dance!"

"The last what?"

"The last dance of the night you dolt. We left long before the final song. You owe me that much for lying to me."

Ruby stood for a moment to examine Weiss. She was asking for a final dance, no matter how hash it was requested. In her time with the princess, she had learned to read in between the lines and dissect her tone. Just because she sounded like cruel or like a demand, didn't mean it was.

A flurry of thought crossed her mind but she pushed them aside. It was too premature to think about future possibilities now when she still had to worry about _next time_. Holding out her hand Ruby took a bow before staring up into Weiss eyes, her own gleaming. This entire time she forgot to remove the contacts, and silently Weiss remarked that red really did look good on her.

"May I have a waltz with my princess then?"

"Yes." For one of the few times in her life, Weiss didn't mine being someone's princess.

* * *

"Aww this is just _sick_!"

"Sick as in overwhelming cute or sick as in stomach flu?"

"…sick as in rainbows and butterflies."

"So does that mean I win this round?"

Yang took a hard stare at the girl to the right of her rolling her eyes, a smirk dancing on her lips.

"You win on a technicality Blake. You knew you'd win so long as stuck up Ice Queen didn't outright reject my sister."

The pair sat on the rooftop right above team CRDL's dorm, spying on their teammates dancing in the school courtyard, a black box and a set of binoculars separating the two, taking their positions like snipers. It was fortunate for them that team CRDL were out tonight, it meant they could speak freely.

"That means the score is 2-2", Blake sang, earning a grumble from her partner. "You know, I offered to remove your sister from the pool when I pulled their name three months ago. If you were so uneasy about the possibility of her getting set up, why'd you let me do this?"

"Things like this are supposed to happen naturally. But I guess some times, people just need a push. That's why I…" Yang paused in her thoughts, pushing her binoculars aside before continuing. "I just really wanted to see my sister's happy ending, and I was impatience in waiting. Plus I trust you enough to not do something too rash."

"This wasn't too rash then?"

Yang shrugged and grinned. "What can I say; we clean up well enough for a date." A wink soon followed.

"Something tells me you would have done much worse if you had pulled them. Surprise we got through four couples before reaching our friends."

"Who you tellin'— oh, OH; oh no…" Yang shook her head as she pressed her binoculars against her face.

"What? Don't like the show?"

Yang's face twisted into a disgusted frown as she buried her into her hands. "They stopped waltzing. Now they are just slow dancing and Weiss is snuggled all against Ruby. Look at her rub her hair under my sister's chin."

Blake chuckled. "So adorable it must be killing you on the inside. You look like you're about to explode." Blake looked out to the pair slowly shuffling in front of a Grimm statue. "You think they ever really say it?"

Yang scratched the back of her head. "My sister practically said 'I like you' already. For Weiss, it may be long time before she ever admits it. Like long after graduation…"

"I'll take you up on that bet", Blake replied pushing the black box over to Yang. "For now, pull."

Yang popped the box top and plucked two small slips of paper. "Same rules; no time limit but results on the set up and partner judges?"

Blake confirmed the rules before Yang read the names on her paper. "Ah yeah! I got Jaune and Pyrrha!"

"Wait, seriously?! That means I'm stuck with Ren and Nora…"

Yang shook her head. "Check the box kitten. Still more names in there."

Blake narrowed her eyes and she stood from her laying position. "Who else did you add?"

"Sun, Velvet, not Penny since we don't know what she is…"

"Okay, okay. Suppose that's fair", Blake laughed, mumbling android love might be awkward. Taking the black box in hand, Blake slowly made her way towards the door, Yang shortly following behind. "We should go and leave the two dorks be."

"Agreed, I got plans to make", Yang sang as she held her hands behind her back, almost skipping in her steps; barely seen written on the paper between her fingers, the beginning of two names: 'YA' and 'BL'.

* * *

Note: Alright guys. Thanks for reading. A couple of things. First, I actually had no plan going into this story, but started it Sunday of last week and did as much editing as I could. I wanted to get into the habit of writing like that for all my current and future stories so I can actually write what I want and catch as many errors as possible, instead of putting something out having edited in only 2 days and later regretting it. If I still have grammatical and spelling errors, I apologize.

Secondly, I made a reference to a movie or 2, having watched one of them before this out of boredom. So if that came off a little weird showing up in the story, my bad. But more internet points to you if you catch it.

Third, Cardin got burnt (but does not die) in a fire related magic accident. In case you were wonder how Weiss got her revenge. Thanks again for reading and hope you enjoyed.


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